to tame a champion
by frosty600
Summary: After the death of Hope Zeus punishes Ares by locking him in a slab of stone. Centuries later Ares ends up in Sunnydale museum, where he finds his new champion. A petite blond with a destiny already laid out for her. Ares/Buffy


**Disclaimer: ** I in no way own Buffy the Vampire slayer, or Xena Warrior Princess or any of the characters mentioned in either of their cannons.

**A/N: **Ok well this is the first time I've ever written Buffy paired with anyone other then Angel/us, but I couldn't get this story off my mind. Musie was practically forcing me to start writing it or she wouldn't let me think of anything else. I am hoping that now that I've started, she'll let me concentrate on my other stories as well.

I'd very much appreciate any feedback you guys can give me especially seeing as this is my first crossover and I'd love to know how I'm doing.

**Please read this part of my A/N even if you skip everything else)** Also I would greatly appreciate it if any of my readers would give me some information about pregnancies as Buffy is going to get pregnant in this story and seeing as I haven't been myself, my knowledge is pretty basic. Sorry for the little spoiler but it was kinda necessary.

This fanfic is pretending that seasons 5 and 6 never happened. Just thought I'd let you know to help stop any confusion. :D

Ok I'm gonna let you get on with reading the chappie.

**CHAPTER 1**

Buffy lay in the darkness of her room in a far from restful slumber. She turned onto her back an arm thrown haphazardly out of the covers, goose bumps appearing on the exposed limb, but she didn't pull it back under the safety of the covers. There was a small crease to her brow, the only real sign that she was in anything but a peaceful sleep.

Buffy walked through unfamiliar halls, they were dark apart from light given off by the wooden torches bracketed to the walls. She walked slowly her eyes searching for any sign of an attack. She looked behind her, her eyes shimmering in the light cast by the flames. She had no idea why she was here, she only knew that she felt that she had to continue on… like someone or something was calling her. Driving her along the path she was walking.

She came to a fork. She could either continue moving forward or turn down the right, or left shafts. Without really thinking about it, she turned to the right. This one hall didn't have any torches. It was just dark. She could feel the fine hairs on her body standing on end, making her want to turn tail and run. But she didn't she continued down the path she had chosen, her steps seemed to echo around her now. The sounds loud like her own steps were a kind of warning.

Moving forward she saw a light at the end of the dark hall she had chosen. Quickening her steps she walked towards the light. When she finally reached the light she had to shield her eyes for a moment. Lowering her arm she looked around herself and she realized that she had stepped into a room of some kind. She didn't get much of a chance to take in the details of the room as her gaze was drawn towards a coffin like structure in the middle of the room.

It was raised on a small alter. She walked to it, moving slowly up the steps, she tried to calm her heart that was racing like she had just run a hundred metre sprint. She reached the last step and peered over to see the top of the stone construct. It was a man, his eyes closed against the world, a fine trimmed goatee covered his chin, his arms lay down by his sides. He was wearing a leather vest that parted to allow you to see the curly hairs that covered his chest as well as the necklace that lay against his chest. The pendant was in the shape of a sword. An actual sword sat against his hip the hilt jutting out farther than the rest of the carving. As if her arm had a mind of its own it reached out, her fingers outstretched. She brushed his cheek with her fingertips.

Buffy opened her eyes with a sharp intake of breath. She sat up slowly a hand going automatically to her sleep mussed hair. She stared blankly at a spot in front of her as she thought. She wasn't sure what to make of her dream. The man in the stone had looked so lifelike that it seemed at any moment he would jump up from the stone structure. It was almost like the artist had made a man lie down on the stone slab, before turning the trusting man to stone. But was it a prophetic dream, or just her hormones suppling her with a dream man to supplement the fact that she had no love life to speak of… and she refused to sleep with Spike again. It had done neither of them any good and had left metaphorical scars.

Buffy lay back down and turned onto her side. It was sad for her to admit and for the moment she only admitted it to herself, but Spike was her closet friend at this time, he had understood her in ways that the others couldn't when she had been brought back from the dead. He had comforted her, or had at least tried to. He'd done everything that she'd allowed him to do. And had done everything she'd wanted. Buffy sighed and tried to turn her mind from the months she'd spent in Spike's bed trying to heal what had been broken.

The man locked in the stone slab swam into her mind and she let out another sigh. He was handsome, and the leather… She'd always had a weakness for a man in leather. Buffy scowled, this was just perfect she was so long without a man that a stone carving was attracting her attention! Buffy pounded her pillow with her fist a dark scowl on her face. She heard her door make a soft squeak and she turned so that she could see the door. She recognised Dawn standing in her doorway in her night gown. "Dawn what is it?" Buffy asked her voice a little husky from sleep.

"Oh, um… nothing." Dawn mumbled looking down at her bare feet. "I just couldn't sleep."

Buffy smiled in the darkness and shifted in her bed opening the covers up in invitation. "Neither could I."

Dawn smiled recognising the invitation. Walking swiftly across the dark room with an ease that told of all the times she had snuck into her big sisters room to snoop over the years, she climbed into the bed and snuggled down next to her sister as she brought the blankets back down around her, her arm circling around her waist in a comforting gesture. "So… why can't you sleep?" Dawn asked.

"I had a dream… a really strange one."

Dawn placed her hand over her sisters squeezing it. "Was it prophetic?" She asked. She'd only really just gotten her sister back from the sort of depression she'd been in. she didn't want to lose her again.

Buffy frowned. "I hope not… what about you why can't you sleep?"

"I had a dream to."

"There wasn't a stone slab in yours by any chance, was there?"

"No." Dawn replied in a 'duh' voice. "What kind of boring dreams do you think I have?"

"Not as boring as I'd thought obviously." Buffy teased earning a jab to her gut by her sister's elbow. She let out an exaggerated 'oof'. Making Dawn giggle.

"Serves you right."

A few moments later both sister fell back to sleep snuggled up next to each other.

A large truck pulled up outside the Sunnydale museum. The driver cut the engine as he and his partner jumped down out of the truck. Walking around to the back of the truck the pushed up the roller door. One of the men jumped up into the truck walking around the stone slab that they had driven here.

The museum Creator and a couple of museum employees came out one driving a forklift to carry the artefact into the museum. "You alright in there Larry?" The man at the foot of the truck asked just as the Creator reached him.

"This thing it's too heavy…"

"Alright. I'm coming." The man climbed in and together with Larry began pushing the large stone slab to the edge of the truck.

"Careful! Careful now!" The Creator urged as he watched his latest piece being loaded onto the forklift. He walked up to the boy driving the vehicle. "If there's any incident whilst he's in your care, I'll have your job, quicker then you can say fired." The Creator threatened.

The boy nodded, before shooting a glare at the back of The Creators head as he turned away ready to make his way back inside the museum. The boy shifted the gear back into drive and carefully crawled his way back to the open roller door. Once inside he stopped and lowered the lift. Hollering to the men waiting for him he jumped out of the machine.

"Careful with it boys, one scratch and The Creator will have you fired so fast it'll make your head spin." The men looked over the old stone slab, that was littered with old faded scratches along the stone. The only thing unaffected was the carving of the man.

One of them shook his head. "Does he even know who this guy is?" He grumbled.

The boy shook his head. "Knowing him probably not, but he'll think of something to explain him."

The others chuckled in agreement.

"Come on boys, let get this thing into the exhibit whilst we still have a chance of getting some sleep tonight."

A good hour later the stone slab was situated on the small alter in the yet to be opened exhibit.

Buffy blinked open her eyes a small smile pulling at her lips at having had a dreamless sleep for the rest of the night. Looking across at her sisters' still sleeping form, her smile growing amused at the way her long brown hair sat in a sleep knotted mess. Slowly and carefully Buffy slipped from her bed. Pulling the covers back up to keep Dawn warm, Buffy watched her sister sleep for another moment, before turning and moving silently through the room and out her bedroom door.

A frown darkened Buffy's features as she walked, her mind still on Dawn. Dawn had been clinging to her like a second shadow ever since the Dark Willow incident after Terra's unexpected death. It had all been too much for Dawn what with their mothers death, and then her own, then her botched scarring return, Terra dying, Willow turning evil and trying to kill Dawn for the energy she possessed. It had left Dawn with abandonment issues and a need to be sure that Buffy was around at all times. It was one of the few reasons, if not the most pressing reason that she had invested in getting them both a mobile phone… after having made Dawn promise not to rack up an impossibly large bill.

That didn't help with her nightmares though, which normally lead to Dawn jumping into bed with her in the middle of the night, terrified that everyone she loved was dead, leaving her alone. Buffy sighed she wasn't sure how to help her sister through this. She had suggested seeing a councillor, but Dawn just like her had hated the idea and had refused to even contemplate it.

Buffy sighed as she entered the kitchen. The house felt a little empty without Willow and Terra in the house. She hadn't heard from her red headed friend since she had gone overseas to the Wiccan coven there to learn more about her powers. She missed her friend despite the distance that had grown between them over the years… especially since her botched return from the grave. The absence of both Willow and Spike was leaving her feeling lonely, even though she hadn't been on the best of terms with Spike when he left. And Xander rarely came around to busy with work and avoiding Anya.

Buffy winced and gasped falling to her knees, a hand clutching at the kitchen table as a strange feeling came over her in rolling waves, trying to take over her senses; calling to her. Urging her to go, to come to him. Buffy shook her head in an attempt to clear the feeling. _'Who in the hell was him?'_ Buffy thought just as another wave hit her. The call was compelling and demanding and made her want to go to him, like he was telling her to.

"Buffy are you alright?" Dawn asked from the doorway.

Buffy looked back at her grateful that whatever had come over her seemed to have receded at the sound of Dawn's voice. "Yeah… I'm fine Dawn." Buffy stood and plastered a happy smile on her face. "How about we do breakfast." Buffy suggested, doing her best to sound like her normal self.

Dawn gave her a strange look. "I can't I'm going out with friends for the day remember?" Dawn sighed exasperatedly when Buffy just stared at her blankly. "You know the day out on the town that you practically bribed me into doing."

"Oh, right." Buffy mumbled. "That's this weekend?"

Dawn rolled her eyes, before a horn honked outside the house. "Gotta go." Dawn said with a wave, and turned towards the door. She paused, before turning and giving Buffy a hug. "I'll see you when I get back, right?"

Buffy hugged her back. "Of course. Now go, before they wonder what the holdup is." Dawn nodded and gave her sister a smile, before running out the door.

The smile on Buffy's face disappeared as soon as Dawn shut the door behind her. She could still feel the calling like a hum in the back of her mind. Buffy turned and headed for the landline. Picking up the phone she dialled the number Giles had left for her should she ever need to call. She listened to the tinny ring as she waited for Giles to pick up. She sighed in frustration when she was greeted by the pre-recorded message. "Hey Giles it's Buffy. I need to talk to you, so give me a call back as soon as you get this message. Ok. Bye." Buffy finished awkwardly before hanging up, she hated talking to an answering machine.

Placing down the phone Buffy placed a hand to her head, the calling was getting stronger again. But as much as it annoyed her she had no idea who was urging her to come to him, and it would be foolish to just do what the voice wanted. Buffy walked around to the kitchen bench, getting herself a bowl of cereal. She never thought she'd see the day when she'd want an occult book to pour through. Unfortunately though, Giles had taken his with him, and Willow had taken hers and Terra's so she was left without.

Sitting down at the table Buffy ate in silence a worried frown creasing her brow as she tried to ignore the persistence calling. Wanting for nothing more than for the constant hum to go away. Standing and dumping her empty dishes in the sink, Buffy moved back up the stairs to take a shower and get dressed for the day.

Trapped in the stone slab Ares could feel her resistance to his call, her desperate want to ignore him and his desire to be free. Unwilling to be trapped in the accursed stone for much longer he concentrated on her more intensely. She would come to him, she had no choice in the matter. Ares felt a frustrated scream building inside him as the humans who had possession of him moved about him, placing things in the room he was locked away in now. He would have his vengeance on them!

He ached to be able to grasp his sword and slaughter them where they stood. To air at least some of the grievance he felt at being trapped for so long. How could his father not deem him forgiven by now? Ares strained against the stone that was his prison despite the fact that he knew that it was useless, the stone would not break for him, someone had to release him.

Buffy let out a small cry of shock as the hum grew unbearably loud as she crossed the street. She teetered for a moment, shaking her head trying to throw the feeling like she'd done earlier. She heard an angry car horn honking at her, and she gave the driver an apologetic look as she walked quickly across the road.

Once she'd reached the other side she rested against a wall of a building, hands going to her head. "Go away." She mumbled as she used her fingers to massage her temples.

"Are you alright miss?"

Buffy looked up and gave the woman who had stopped beside her with a concerned look on her face a small smile. "Yeah fine, just got hit by a headache." Buffy bluffed, before hurrying on, leaving the woman staring at her back with a confused look on her face.

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take without giving in, and it was only the early hours of the afternoon. She could feel a tension in her shoulders, arms and legs, making her itch for the feel of a stake in her hands and a vampire to pummel before watching it turn to dust. Buffy fisted her hands, it was hours away until she could take out her frustrations on the unsuspecting undead.

Buffy came to a sudden halt as she realized that whilst she'd been lost in her thoughts her feet had been carrying her towards an unknown location. _'Ok Buffy aimlessly walking is a no-no.'_ She decided before turning around to face the opposite direction. She didn't know whether it was her imagination or not, but she could feel the callers angry frustration at her change of course. Her pace quickened as she tried to out move the persuasive call.

She didn't know what it was, but experience on the hellmouth had taught her that it was usually a big bad, and it was normally best to not do what the big bad wanted. Hurrying back down the streets, adding unneeded twists and turns as she made her way home, in a vain attempt at losing whatever it was that was trying to cloud her mind.

Making it back into her house her whole body quivering as she fought the urge to leave the house again and allow the calling to take her where it will. Walking with trembling steps towards the phone she felt disappointed when she saw that there was no new messages waiting to be listened to. She had been hoping that Giles would have called her back. It wasn't as if she ever called him the cost for an ESTD call wasn't exactly wallet friendly.

Moving away from the phone Buffy walked into the living room sinking down onto the sofa, glad to be off her trembly legs. Scooping up the remote she flicked on the TV, hoping to drown out the calling that was screaming through her body now. Buffy watched the flicking scream, trying to lose herself in the movie that was playing.

In a few moments her eyes closed and an uneasy sleep took her. She found herself once again in a dark hallway with torches lighting either side of her. Without her permission her legs began to walk her down the hall, and into another one. She felt a strange sense of urgency and her legs moved faster carrying her closer and closer to her destination. She saw the doorway and headed towards it, emerging once again into the room with man carved into the stone on the platform.

Walking towards the stone slab, she moved steadily up the stairs. Her eyes swept over him from head to toe and she was once again struck by just how life like he seemed. Buffy leaned in closer to get a closer look at him…

Buffy startled away, almost bumping heads with Dawn who was shaking her awake. "Dawn?" Buffy asked surprised. "Your home already?"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah. I figured you'd want me home before night well and truly set in." Buffy sat up confused and looked out the living room window to see that the sky was darkening as the last rays of the sun were swallowed by the shadows. Buffy frowned hadn't she just sat down to watch TV? Surely she hadn't been locked in her dream for that long?

"Hey is something wrong?"

Buffy turned to face Dawn. "No. Why?"

"You're just acting all spacey." Dawn said with a small concerned frown. "You're not coming down with a fever are you?"

Buffy shook her head. "Not sure." Buffy said distractedly as she moved past Dawn and out of the living room.

Dawn followed Buffy up the stairs, having to pause when Buffy's door began closing on her, using her hand to push it open again she was met with Buffy who was slipping a spare stake into one of the hiding places she had on the jacket she was wearing. "Buffy what's going on? Is there a new big bad in town that I need to know about?"

Buffy looked up at her hazel eyes slightly surprised. "What? No, I just need to go slay something. I'll be back as soon as I can. Ok." Buffy swept down the stairs and headed towards the front door. "Feel free to have dinner without me if you get hungry before I get back." Buffy called before going out the door, closing it whilst Dawn was still at the top of the staircase.

Dawn stood there for a moment a worried expression on her face. Heading down the stairs with quick steps she headed over to the phone and dialled and waited for someone to pick up on the other end of the line.

Buffy pivoted on her heel her blond hair fanning out around her before slamming her deceptively small fist under his chin sending the vamp stumbling to the ground. The vamp jumped back up to his feet as Buffy whipped her stake out from its hiding place. Back handing the vamp, she then slammed her stake into his chest in a smooth practised motioned.

Withdrawing it a second later, she angled her stake back towards her and slammed it behind her having heard a second vamp approaching her from behind. She looked back in time to see a startled vampiress turn to dust. Throwing her stake up into the air she caught it again and began once again making her way through the cemetery.

Buffy was feeling considerable better even though those two had been the first for the night, but she wasn't exactly expecting much it was rather early after all. Buffy placed a hand against one of her temples as she felt the call thrumming through her. The slayage was helping her tense, action ready muscles, but was doing nothing about the persistent urge to go to him. Whomever him was?

Buffy took another couple of steps before she found herself seemingly locked in placed unable to move forward past the urgent calling. Buffy shook her head, not even seeing the couple of vampires that had appeared in front of her. "Slayer prepare to meet your maker!" One of them snarled.

Buffy looked up her normally hazel eyes tinted red landed on them, but saw right threw them. Turning away she hurried in the direction the call was urging her to go, all thoughts of resisting the persistent voice vanishing under the power of the call.

Soon Buffy found herself outside the Sunnydale museum a place she had only ever been once, and that visit hadn't really turned out so well. Creeping silently up to the closed building, she broke through the lock and slipped inside. She frowned as she surveyed her dark surroundings. Tilting her head she focused on the call that was growing more and more urgent the closer she got. Turning to the left she worked her way through the museum. Coming to a badly lit hallway, the lights on the roof flickering between on and off as if someone had forgotten to turn off the lights.

Buffy recognised the hallway from her dream. She tried to stop herself from continuing forward, but she couldn't get control of her body, the call having taken over most of her conscious mind. Her steps gathered speed as she turned into the last hallway. She practically ran towards the door, only to slow to a sedated walk when she entered the room.

Seeing a bulky man standing with his back to her mumbling to himself, the sound of a pen checking things off on a wooden clipboard filling the room. Moving towards him slowly she tapped him on the shoulder, making him jump and spin around. He didn't even get the chance to really look at her before her fist collided with his face, knocking him to the floor unconscious, the unnatural bend to his nose suggesting that she had broken it. Turning her attention from the unconscious man, she walked slowly up to steps that lead to the stone slab. She warred with herself, trying to get herself to turn away from the stone and flee before someone came in and found her alone with the unconscious man. Instead she found herself climbing the steps until she was standing level with the stone slab her eyes fixed on the man trapped in the stone.

He really was handsome. Buffy found herself thinking as her eyes drank in his stone face. The thrumming call was caressing her now urging her onward. The red tint left her hazel eyes, but still Buffy found that she couldn't turn away from him. There was just something so magnetic about him. it made you want to reach out and touch him. To caress his stone cheek…

Buffy eyes landed on his lips and without even knowing that she was going to she leaned down, her hand coming up to caress his cheek like she had in her first dream, except this time she didn't wake up. She dipped lower, her eyes hooded as she found that she couldn't tear her eyes away from his lips. Finally she closed the distance her lips meeting his stone ones. She couldn't understand her need to touch the stone carving.

Outside her notice the stone began to fracture, starting with thin lines. Ares wiggled his fingers breaking the stone around his hands. The sound made Buffy open her eyes in shock, she was about to pull away when she felt a powerful arm wrap itself around her back locking her in place. Under hers she could feel the stone mans lips move under hers, kissing her back, with a lot more passion then the innocent closed mouth kiss she had pressed to his lips.

Just as abruptly as he had kissed her Ares released her. Buffy wasted no time in taking a step back, before punching him in the face, sending him tumbling off what was left of the stone slab, from the sitting position he had moved into. Practically unfazed by the powerful blow Ares hopped up again. Stretching his long unused arms above his head, his back to the woman who'd released him from his century's long imprisonment. "Oh Gods it's good to be free!" Ares turned rolling his shoulders as he settled his gaze on the petite blond he'd called to him. "You took your time doing it though." Ares turned his gaze from the bristling, confused blond, to his leather vest, frown at the stone dust that remained on his clothes. Brushing the dust off him with an annoyed frown.

He glanced up as the blond slipped a pointed piece of wood from somewhere on her person, holding it in her hand like it was a part of her. "And what do you think you can accomplish with that? Kill me?" Ares laughed. "It'd take something a lot more powerful than a splinter of wood to do me in."

Buffy shrugged a cold curve to her lips as she twirled the stake expertly between her fingers, before clutching it in her palm again. "You'd be surprised just how many things a stake thrust through a heart can kill."

Ares laughed again, the sound grating against her nerves. "As much as I'd love to stay and play with you for a while. I've got to re-familiarize myself with the world. A quiet a few centuries trapped in a stone slab, kinder puts you out of touch with the world." Ares touched two fingers to his lips and kissed them, before pointing them in her direction, evidently blowing her a kiss.

Buffy scowled and threw her stake at him only for him to laugh again before disappearing in a flash of sparkling blue light, that illuminated the room for a moment, her stake clattered uselessly to the ground. Buffy whirled around looking for him in the room, but he was gone, leaving only her and the man she had knocked into unconsciousness in the room. Buffy looked towards the open doorway when she heard the sound of someone approaching. Looking around for a moment she ran and grabbed her stake, before running out of the room through a door that evidently led through to another part of the museum.

As she ran as silently as could through the mansion, she heard a furious male scream, before angry shouting and loud thumps that she believed where things being thrown. Making her way out of the museum, Buffy disappeared out into the night, making her way home. Desperately hoping that she hadn't just released the next Big Bad into the world.

**A/N:** Ok well I hope you enjoyed chapter 1. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. It's much easier to continue when the musie is all fat and happy from reading your reviews. :D


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